First Step's Always The Hardest
by Fellsing
Summary: Starlight Glimmer wants to change, and under the supervision of Twilight Sparkle, she has begun to make progress. But Twilight can't always be there for her, and when she and her friends are called away, Starlight is left to look after the castle. Sounds simple, but when an old friend comes for a surprise visit, bringing trouble with him, it turns out to be anything but.
1. Prologue

**Prologue**

She should have been happy for him. That's what a good friend would have done.

A good friend would have smiled despite the strong aching in her heart, would have congratulated him and wished him luck for his future. A good friend would have continued to keep up the façade of being happy, continued on writing to him, always pretending and telling him that even though she missed him so much, she would be fine, that she would find other friends who fill the void in her heart that he had left. A good friend would have kept saying these words, even though the tears would spill every time she read one of his letters, even though she now sat alone at school, an empty chair next to her, and ate her lunches at an empty table.

A good friend would have kept lying, both to her beloved friend and to herself. She would have kept pretending until she herself believed the lies, and could move on with her life just as he had moved on with his.

That's what a good friend would have done, but it was becoming quickly apparent to Starlight Glimmer that she was not 'good'.

She had tried to be. She really had! Those first few letters, she had tried her best to be supportive of Sunburst's new life in Canterlot. She remembered how scared he had been, how shaky his writing was as he told her about how he was struggling to make friends at school, and how some ponies even seemed to look down upon him for coming from a far poorer background than they were.

"They probably think I shouldn't be here," Sunburst had wrote. "They don't think I'm special enough."

"You're the most special pony I know," Starlight had written back. "You shouldn't care what they think. They're just snobs who don't know any better. What matters is that you know how good you really are."

Those had been the words she had written, words of support and comfort. Yet in her heart, she had been rejoicing. Sunburst was not happy at his new school, he hadn't made any new friends. Deep down, he must have known that his parents had made a mistake. He may have been doing alright in his studies, but the truth was, he must have wanted to come home. He was missing his hometown, he was missing his parents, and most importantly, he was missing _her._

She continued to write to him, continued listening to his woes and encouraging him that no matter what happened, she would always be by his side. She thought if she continued to be there for him, continued to be his only source of comfort when the rest of the school looked down on him, he would eventually beg his parents to take him home so they could be together again. It may have sounded selfish, but she was a child, and in her immature mind, she was convinced there was no way that Sunburst could be happy without her. They were best friends, after all. They belonged together, not apart, and if she was so miserable without him, he must feel the same.

Then, without any warning, the letters suddenly stopped.

Until that point, the two had written to each other twice a week. Starlight would begin the cycle by responding to Sunburst's previous letter on a Monday without fail, send it off, in which he would reply to a day or two after. She would then respond on Thursday, and he would send a reply soon after. Starlight would then begin the cycle up the week after, and it would continue. A couple of times, Sunburst's message would returned a little later than usual, which would often send Starlight into hysterics, fearing that if it was even a second late, that would mean Sunburst had forgotten. It may have seemed silly to somepony else, but to Starlight, patterns meant everything. They were something she could rely, something that would never let her down, something to establish structure and control in her life. Over time, she tried not to get too upset if Sunburst's letter was a little late, reminding herself that it may simply be because the post was a little late, and not because her friend had forgotten her, and was able to keep her fears at bay.

But that week, she only received one letter from Sunburst.

No big deal, she told herself. He was probably busy with all those studies and homework. She didn't know much about the Celestia's School for Gifted Unicorns, but if it was as prestigious as some ponies said it was, she imagined the work was quite demanding. So she waited…

… and waited…

A week had past by now. "Maybe the finals are coming up," she said to herself.

Two weeks past. "Maybe he wants to study really hard so he'll get good grades. He must want to make his family as proud as possible."

Three weeks past. "It's not because he's forgotten about me."

Four weeks. "… right?"

Five weeks. Six weeks. Seven. Eight. Even Starlight had started to lose track. The days both seemed to drag on, yet at the same time seemed to rush past, blurring into one. After a while, she stopped checking the mail completely, stopped marking the days on her calendar to remind her how long it had been. She had tried sending another letter, but there was still no reply.

The days continued, and Starlight Glimmer became more and more depressed. She stopped caring about her homework, stopped being able to concentrate on reading even her most favorite books. She didn't even eat much anymore, and the slightly pudgy unicorn who had once enjoyed her desserts so much was now looking very _very_ thin.

After a while, she stopped going to school. At first, her mother, Graceful Glimmer, assumed her daughter merely had a cold, and kept her daughter off school just to be safe. She knew her daughter was missing her friend, even knew how upset she was that he had stopped writing to her. But Starlight was a child, a filly. Children obsessed over their friends, got upset when they had fallings out, treated every misstep like it was the end of the world. But they move on, eventually. Their hearts heal, and while a part of them will always miss that friendship, that closeness, they would grow up and find others.

That's what Graceful Glimmer had hoped would happen. What should have happened.

But it didn't.

Oh no. It was only going to get much worse.


	2. Chapter 1: The (Un)chosen One

**Author's Note: So I'd like to start by apologising for how long this chapter took. To be honest, I was kind of worried about writing the Mane Six. They're not gonna be in this story much but I still wanted to get them right, and I was scared they might end up flanderized. Still, I think I did alright. In fact, I'm kind of proud of this chapter, and now that the real story had started, I feel a lot more confident about going forward. Hopefully, the next chapter shouldn't be too long in the future. Please look forward to it.**

 **Until then, enjoy the first true chapter of First Step's Always The Hardest, and please drop a review and tell me what you think. I'd love to hear you guys' opinions.**

 **Chapter 1: The (Un)chosen One**

Even though Winter had long since been cleared away in Ponyville, the remnants of its cold grasp had remained, and the residents had been treated to some of the most miserable early-Spring weather they had ever experienced. A few ponies had complained to the local weather team that while they understood the need for rain and cold winds every now and again, they were eager to feel the warmth of the sun once again and demanded that the pegasi responsible clear away the thick veil of clouds immediately.

Rainbow Dash had been quick to put them in their place.

"Hey, you think we like it anymore than you do?" she had retorted. The weather was annoying her too, as the strong winds that had been blowing across town had not only made flying less enjoyable, it had even caused some accidents among the less expert flyers. Rainbow's friend Fluttershy had resolved to keep her hooves firmly planted on the ground until late Spring, and had Rainbow not enjoyed the thrill of soaring through the air as much has she did, she might have followed her example. It really was that bad.

But even she, the most daring pony in all of Equestria, was afraid to disobey Cloudsdale, and not because she feared punishment. She had long since learned, as had many young pegasi before her, that while Cloudsdale's weather schedule, sent to weather teams all over Equestria at the beginning of each year, was best obeyed to the letter unless situations were dire enough. Rainbow didn't understand exactly how it worked, but the weather factory apparently devoted a lot of time to calculating what weathers over which area at what time would give the most long-term benefit to Equestria's agricultural development. She'd heard that immediately after they had sent out the schedule for each year, they would start working on the next year's. It took a lot of time, concentration, and sometimes they barely made their deadline. If they managed to finish early, they were to spend the rest of the year working on the schedule for the year after. It was that difficult, and while Rainbow didn't usually care about all that brainiac stuff, she had to admire their dedication.

Still, it was a relief when they were finally allowed to bless Ponyville with the year's first completely clear sky, and Rainbow was determined to take full advantage of it. As she was clearing away the last clouds with a few strong kicks, she was already planning a full day of daring stunts when she suddenly felt a familiar tingling sensation pass through her body. She paused mid-kick, and slowly turned her head to the side in order to check her cutie mark. Around the iconic cloud-and-thunder symbol, a warm glow had begun to radiate.

The map was calling her.

'Well,' Rainbow thought to herself, suppressing a sigh. 'There go my plans for today.' While she was all for adventure, the last two times the map had summoned her, there hadn't really been much in the way of flank-kicking. Instead, both times she'd found herself depowered in some way, and instead having to rely on others to help her. In the latter case, she hadn't really minded, as it had allowed her to reconnect with her old friend Gilda and reform a bond she had thought could not be salvaged. But the first time was utterly humiliating: her, the great Rainbow Dash, along with her friends who had saved the day numerous times, having to rely on complete strangers to defeat the big bad? Not one of her best moments, and she still cringed at the memory of her flight being slowed, as if someone had tied invisible weights to her hooves. She never wanted to feel that helpless ever again.

Still, a quest was a quest, and so the moment she got off weather duty, she made a beeline for Twilight's castle, flying at near full speed, not because she was in a hurry to get there, but simply because she could do so unhindered. Upon reaching the rather conspicuous building, a massive tree-like structure made of blue and violet crystal that still looked out of place next to the quaint and cozy houses of Ponyville, Rainbow Dash swept through one of the open windows like a gust of wind. Perhaps not the safest maneuvered given her speed, and she did end up flipping over one the tables and possible smashing a vase or three. But considering the last time she had tried a stunt like that she had ended up getting tangled in the curtains and had been hanging there for at least quarter of an hour until Twilight had come to her rescue, she considered this a success. Once she had recovered from her less-than-graceful landing, Rainbow made sure to hide the evidence, sweeping the shards of the vase, or vases, under one of the ornate rugs that had been used to make the cold floors more comfortable, and righted the table, placing it back in where she believed it had been before she had disturbed it.

Twilight would never notice the difference. Probably.

After hiding the evidence of her mishap, she took to the air once more and her way to the throne room, where she found not one, not two, but all her friends sitting in their appointed seats around the map. Even Spike was there, though his eyes betrayed his disinterest as six familiar cutie marks hovered over the map.

"Oh yeah! The gang's all here!" Rainbow exclaimed, plopping herself down on her throne. Despite her previous wariness, she was suddenly feeling pretty excited for the task at hoof.

Most of her friends nodded at her entrance – Fluttershy even smiled at her – but they all seemed very focused on the map. Twilight Sparkle in particular, her face scrunched up in concentration. "Strange," Twilight muttered, her eyes fixed on the cutie marks. They were clustered in one spot at the very edge of map, on the Eastern side of Equestria.

"What's strange?" Rainbow Dash said, leaning back in her seat and placing her back hooves on the table, only to remove them a second later when she caught sight of Applejack giving her a glare from across the room.

"Rainbow Dash, how much do you know about the area east of the Equestrian border?" Twilight said, glancing over at her friend.

"Err, other than what I've read in a Daring Do book?" Rainbow gave a shrug. "Not a thing." At this, Rainbow could practically see Twilight resisting the urge to face-hoof.

"Actually, I don't either, Twi," Applejack chimed in. "In fact, I don't really know anything about what's beyond Equestria."

"Me neither," Fluttershy admitted, her ears drooping slightly as if she were ashamed. With her head down like that, Rainbow could hardly see her eyes from behind her long curtain of pink hair.

"I'll admit I don't either," Rarity said, placing a hoof over her heart as she stuck out her chest, remaining proud as ever despite confessing a gap in her knowledge. "Though I don't think it's particularly common knowledge."

Pinkie Pie, for her part, said nothing, simply nodding in agreement, her signature smile ever-present on her face.

Twilight blinked at her friends, astounded, before quickly regaining her posture. Rainbow wondered if she sometimes forgot she was the only one of them who had attended a prestigious school, where she and other gifted unicorns had been hoof-fed knowledge others couldn't even comprehend. It was an understandable error, really. Rainbow herself sometimes forgot that she and her friends had not always known each other. They had not been brought up together, not attended the same school, and other than Fluttershy, she hadn't even been aware of the others' existence until that fateful Summer Sun celebration two years ago. Was it really only two years?

Twilight cleared her throat slightly, snapping Rainbow out of her thoughts. Oh boy. It appeared that they were in for a quite an info-dump if that cough was any indication. "Well, you guys remember when we first visited Starlight's village?" she said.

Rarity scoffed. "How can we forget, darling?" she said. "One does not simply forget having their individuality drained out of them." There was a hum of agreement from around the table. Clearly, Rainbow was not the only one who shuddered at the memory of them losing their cutie marks.

"Yes, well," Twilight continued. "Remember how when Starlight mentioned that her 'staff of sameness' was one of nine special artifacts belong to the mage Meadowbrook?"

"Yeah," Applejack said. "I also remember you said that that was complete hogwash and that Meadowbrook only had eight artifacts."

Twilight nodded. "Exactly," she said. "But how much do any of you know about Meadowbrook?"

"Well, you said she was some mighty powerful Unicorn mage from the East," Applejack replied. "That's really all I know. Is that significant somehow?"

"To some degree," Twilight said. "The East is shrouded in mystery, but apparently ponies there are very different from ponies in Equestria."

"Different how, exactly?" Fluttershy asked.

"While Equestia is a land where all three races – Unicorns, Pegasi and Earth Ponies – exist in harmony, with the Alicorn sisters ruling over all, the East is predominantly run by unicorns. Their magic also differs from ours, though I don't know much on that subject honestly."

"Even your big brain has limits then, huh?" Rainbow smirked at her, though it was all friendly jest. However, Twilight's ears drooped at that comment.

"I'm afraid so," Twilight said, as if she'd done something wrong by simply not knowing something. Rainbow immediately felt rotten and was about to apologize, or at least attempt to make some joke to lighten the mood, when Applejack rose from her chair at trotted over to Twilight's side.

"Hey now." Applejack put her around Twilight. "No need to look so glum."

"She's right," Rarity agreed. "Don't be too hard on yourself, Twilight. Everypony has things they don't know. I'm sure there are even some things Celestia herself has no clue about."

Twilight raised her head. "I know, but if the map is pointing us there and we don't know what to be prepared for…" she trailed off.

"We could always ask Starlight!"

There was a moment of silence as everypony turned their head to face Pinkie, who had remained surprisingly silent since Rainbow had arrived. Noticing everpony staring at her, Pinkie blinked. "What?" she said. "I mean, if Starlight is smart enough to know about Meadowbrook and her artifacts, she might know one or two things about the East as well." Once again, a moment of silence as all the ponies glanced at each other.

It was only then Rainbow realized that her earlier remark of "The gang's all here" had been incorrect. One of their group, the most recent addition, was absent.

* * *

As Starlight Glimmer paced back and forth around the castle kitchens waiting for her cake to finish baking, she couldn't help but notice that the castle was particularly quiet today. As in, drop-a-pin-and-it-would-echo-loudly-down-the-long-empty-hallways quiet. Though the atmosphere of this place was often oppressive, what with its dark color scheme and lack of central heating, at least it was always lively. It seemed like Twilight's friends were always around, talking, laughing. They were here so often it was a wonder they didn't just move in.

And yes, even though it has been three months since Starlight has been accepted into their circle, she couldn't help but still think of them as 'Twilight's friends'. She enjoyed their company, yes, and grown particularly fond of both Rarity and Pinkie Pie, but the fact remained that the seven of them shared a bond she couldn't even hope to compete with.

It wasn't just that they had known each other for two years. Even before then, the strings of fate had tied them together and all because of single Sonic Rainboom that had caused six of them earn their cutie marks simultaneously, and the seventh of them to be born. Twilight could insist that cutie marks could not affect a pony's friendships as much as she wanted, but the evidence to the contrary was right in front of her. Even if she didn't take her own friends into consideration, there was also the Cutie Mark Crusaders. Over the past three months, Starlight had gotten to know them as much as she had Twilight's little group.

Sweetie Belle had been the one she had met first. Rarity had invited Starlight to the Carousel Boutique. According to the fashionista, she once designed six dresses for her and her friends to wear to the Grand Galloping Gala and she wanted to make Starlight one, as she was sure she would be joining them at the Canterlot castle next year.

"And while I usually do designs by myself, it is _your_ dress and you welcome to give any input you want," Rarity had said.

While Starlight was touched by this offer, she was also a little daunted, a feeling that only increased once she had gotten there and Rarity had shown off the twelve gowns she had made for her friends, six for the gala two years ago and one for last year's gala.

"They're beautiful," Starlight had said, but there had been hint of hesitation in her voice.

"I sense a 'but' there, darling," Rarity had said, her face set into a tight-lipped frown.

"Well," Starlight was careful to choose her words. "I honestly do like them, but they're just a little too… fancy for my taste." Like Rarity, Starlight prided herself on her appearance – it was why she had to take at least quarter of an hour to do up her ponytail each morning before she was ready to start her day – but she wasn't flashy, and always went with a belief that less was more. She told Rarity as such, and apologized if she seemed to be being picky.

But Rarity had taken it all in her stride. "No, no, it's fine," Rarity had replied, delicately writing notes on a small pad as she spoke. "I can work with simple. It's when the client wants a dress to be too complicated that I have trouble." They'd then spent the next hour or so taking Starlight's measurements while also discussing ideas. While the other dresses Rarity had shown were not to her personal taste, she couldn't help but agree that they went perfectly with the pony they had been designed for. In fact, Starlight had been able to guess whose dress was who's with only a glance. Rarity's were, of course, the most detailed and regal, her dress of two years prior even having a lovely golden circlet to match. Pinkie Pie's were poofy and brightly colored without being garish, and made a clear statement. Rainbow Dash and Applejack's dresses had been composed of lighter fabric so they were easier to move in, portraying both Rainbow's athleticism and AJ's practicality. Fluttershy's were soft on the eyes, with the nature motif extremely prevalent, though last year's was a little more adventurous, showing that timid Pegasus had gained confidence since the last ball. But by far, Starlight's favorite of the dresses was Twilight's dress from two years ago, which was incredibly subtle in demonstrating the mare's personality, as well as the blues complimenting going nicely with her purple color scheme. That had been the one Starlight had taken the most inspiration from.

"I want it to be darkly colored, though not completely black," Starlight had suggested.

"How about a smoky purple?" Rarity asked.

"Sounds good."

It was then that Sweetie Belle had come home from school. Appearance-wise, she was a miniature Rarity, albeit a little pudgier and a little less self-conscious about her looks. Personality-wise, she had been a little shy at first, but had quickly come out of her shell and shown herself to be an energetic and eager-to-please little pony, who was constantly trying to push her own ideas for Starlight's dress. Like Rarity, she liked to be flashy, but lacked the eye for style that was such a vital part of her sister's character. During this time, Starlight had noted that there was something familiar about Sweetie's cutie mark. It was a shield, a curious symbol for such a young filly, marked with a star-shamed emblem in the center and a musical note within that.

"What does it mean?" Starlight had asked when they were taking a break from brainstorming dress designs.

"Oh, this?" Sweetie's gave a proud smile before launching into a long-winded explanation about how she and her two friends, Applebloom and Scootaloo, had met when they were all still blank-flanks, and come together to form the Cutie Mark Crusaders. Only some time before Starlight had joined the group, Sweetie Belle and her friends had received their marks at the same time, all with a similar design, which they had taken to mean that their special talent was helping others discover what their talents really were. Starlight had been taken aback by this. What were the chances that there was not one, but two groups of friends in Ponyville who had all received their cutie marks at the same time? After returning home that day, she'd realized that while cutie marks were taken for granted around Equestria, nopony really knew how they worked or why only ponies received them. She'd then decided to start researching, and vowed to speak to the Crusaders later so she could find out more. She wouldn't make the acquaintance of the other two Crusaders until later, when Applejack had invited her round to Sweet Apple Acres to dine with her family. Turns out that Applejack's little sister, Applebloom, had also decided to invite her two friends round, and that's when Starlight had gotten her chance.

She'd asked politely if they would agree to be part of her research and allow her to interview them. She'd also asked Applejack and Rarity's permission of course, both of whom had agreed, as long as asking questions was all that would be required. Of course Starlight wasn't planning on hooking the three up to some big machine. That wouldn't only be unethical, it would also be impractical and highly expensive. Instead, she invited the Crusaders round the castle a few times and asked them questions. How did it feel? What made them realize that their special talent was helping others? Did having shared cutie marks have any side-effects, like forming some telepathic connection between the three of them?

She had to admit, that last question may have been a little silly.

"Honestly?" Applebloom had said. "We don't feel different for having cutie marks then we did not having them."

"Yeah!" Scootaloo had agreed. "In fact, we're pretty much doing what we were always doing. We're just doing it for the sake of others rather than ourselves."

"And we're certain that it's what we're supposed to do," Sweetie Belle added. "It's who we are."

After a few sessions, Starlight had stopped meeting up regularly with the Crusaders, though she did keep in touch them and would sometimes ask how they were doing, and how their endeavors in helping others discover their talent were going.

However, she had learnt something rather interesting from them. All three of them had apparently had the same nightmare once, a dream they couldn't quite escape where they would wake up to experience a different scenario, all with the same root: a gripping fear that gaining their cutie marks would have unhappy consequences. Would they get a mark they weren't happy with? Would their mark change how others perceived them? Applebloom in particular was afraid if she didn't get a mark that was apple-related, as her siblings did, her family would shun her, which Starlight had decided not to reveal to her was actually the case with some families. It was rare, but there were families, like Applejack's, that had a business that was passed through the generations, and if somepony didn't want to be part of that, they would sometimes be disowned. Thankfully, Applejack's family weren't like that, and while Applebloom's mark did have an apple in the design, her talent was not tied to the farm but instead to her friends, and the Apples were just fine with that.

Still, one fear in particular that had caught Starlight's attention was that all three of the Crusaders had been afraid that if one of them earned their cutie mark before the others, it would spell end of their friendship. That had hit close to home for Starlight, and she had dismissed the girls soon after that. That night, she had dreamt of the past, dreamt of her old friend Sunburst, and a few… other things she didn't want to think about. Things that she had yet to tell Twilight and the others. She hadn't been lying when she had said Sunburst's departure had made her what she was, but it was merely the snowball that started the avalanche. Other things had happened since then, and she would rather keep those things a secret, at least until she felt her place with her friends was secure enough to divulge.

But would it ever be secure enough? Starlight tried to tell herself that her friends truly did care about her, that they truly saw her as part of the group, but a nagging voice deep inside refused to give her peace. It kept on repeating the same doubt, the same fear:

"You will never truly be one of them. They will never truly accept you."

 _Ding!_ Starlight jumped as the oven's timer went off. Quickly, she approached it, opening the door and levitating the newly-baked sponge cake out. She placed it gently on the counter, giving it a moment to cool. As she waited, she heard Twilight calling from outside.

"Starlight?"

"In the kitchen!" Starlight called back. The door then opened to reveal Twilight and her friends, Spike barely visible as he stood at the back of the group.

"Oh yumy!" In an instant, Pinkie rushed forward, her jaws opened impossibly wide as if she planned to swallow the cake whole. Almost on instinct, Starlight raised one of her front legs and Pinkie halted suddenly, her snout only a millimeter away from Starlight's hoof.

"How about we wait for the others to take slice first this time?" Starlight suggested.

Pinkie Pie blinked. Then she grinned. "Oki-doki-loki!" she said cheerfully.

Starlight suppressed a sigh of relief, and was about to offer a slice before Twilight stepped forward. "Actually, Starlight, we're not here to eat," she said. "We actually have something to ask you." There was something grave about Twilight's tone and Starlight found herself tensing.

"Oh?" Starlight forced a smile. "Ask away!" This was it: Twilight had obviously had enough of her, and was going to ask her to pack her things and move out. While Twilight had initially cheered at the idea of some extra company in the large castle, Starlight knew that Twilight was, like herself, a introvert who cherished her own space. She'd feared it was only a matter of time before she got kicked out. It's one of the main reasons she had yet to unpack all her things into her new room, but she hoped it wouldn't be so soon. Where would she go? She wasn't sure if there were any vacant houses in Ponyville, and while she had made up with the ponies from her former town, she doubted they would be so eager to let her back into her old house.

Starlight suddenly became aware of a cool breeze flowing through the room and glanced to the side to see that Pinkie Pie had pulled an electric fan and was pointed it in her direction. Starlight gave her a questioning look.

"You looked like you were sweating a whole bunch!" Pinkie said with a smile. "Luckily for you, I have a stash of fans just for these kinds of emergencies!" There was a pause as everypony stared blankly at the pink earth pony, until Starlight eventually switched the fan off.

"Thank you, Pinkie, but I'm fine," she said.

"Anyway," Twilight continued. "Me and the girls just received a… distress call of sorts. Remember how I told you how we found your village?"

Starlight nodded. "Yes," she said. "You told me that the map summoned you, that it told you to go there." Ah yes. That was another thing she planned to research: the map. When she had first broke into Twilight's castle, she had intrigued by it, but had been a little too preoccupied at the time to figure how it worked exactly. Now, knowing it seemed to have its own autonomy, or was very at least being controlled by some higher power, she deeply desired to know more.

"Well, it seems to be calling us again, this time to the East of the Equestrian border," Twilight said. "We'll be gone for a few days and we don't know what to expect so we thought to ask if you knew anything, considering you at least know about the great Meadowbrook and her enchanted objects."

Huh. Well, that was far better that what Starlight had expected. She began going through her mental notes. There wasn't much information on Meadowbrook and her council of Eastern unicorns, only that they lived outside of Equestria, in the lands known only as the Wilderness. Apparently, centuries ago, when the leader of the three tribes had gone in their fated journey would lead to them founding Equestria, a group of unicorns had split off from Princess Platinum and her followers and gone further east, in which they had ended up making the acquaintance of some feral ponies. Since then, the unicorns had bred with the 'Ferals' to form a new breed of unicorn, far large and muscular than those in Equestria. Magic also worked differently outside of Equestria, though Starlight wasn't exactly sure how, but it was classified 'wild magic', and was far more unstable and less easy to mold to the user's whims. That was all Starlight knew, but apparently it was far more than Twilight did and the purple unicorn welcomed the information, and the group discussed the topic actively as they devoured the cake Starlight had prepared.

"Thank you Starlight," Twilight said. "I greatly appreciate it."

"I wish I could tell you more," Starlight admitted. "But while I researched the subject as best I could, I don't know exactly what you'll be dealing with out there."

"It really is fine," Twilight assured her, resting her a hoof on the unicorn's shoulder. "Any new information is good. We know a little bit more about where we're headed, and what to expect."

"So when are we going? Tomorrow?" Rainbow Dash asked.

"I say a week from now," Twilight suggested. "I'll need a little bit more time to research, maybe even ask Celestia if she knows anything else. I suggest you all spent this time get anything you need." The chatter became more excited as they talked about the journey they were about undergo. What was it like out in the Wilderness? What kind of creatures should they expect to meet? And how exactly magic out in the Wilderness differ from Equestrian magic? All the while, Starlight remained silent, and as the excitement in her friends grew, she started to further and further away from them. As grateful as they were for her help, her part here was done. She wouldn't be joining them on this journey, because she had not been called by the map. She didn't have a throne round the table. She wasn't one of the chosen, the ones bound by fate to protect Equestria.

Inside Starlight's mind, that same nagging voice seemed louder than ever:

" _You will never truly be one of them."_


End file.
